Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I've got new heat tape and proportional thermostate from Big Apple (the $109 model) My heat tape is ranging in temp from 83 degree's to 100 degrees' when set at 92.......

Is this normal? I've got 8 ball pythons do to arrive in the matter of an hour or so. Please repsond asap..

Currently heat tape seems to have a steady temp however using a temp gun, the heat tape is reading nearly 120 degree's when the prob reading is reading 85 degree's

Ok first what are you housing the snakes in a cage or a rack ?

Now a few things i need to know on this is :
A- if its a rack is the heat back heat or belly heat ?
B- If its a cage what type cage is it& materials IE: plastic , wood and how thick

Now if you have this on a rack an is used as back heat the temps being higher on the tape itself shouldnt be to much of a concern IMHO due to back heat and tubs, the tubs have about a 1" standoff from the actual heat source itself.so that would be about accurate on the sensor reading.

If its belly heat yes its to hot and you need to do a few things to fix it .

I always recommend the use of a dimmer on flexwatt to "dial in the wattage supplied to the heat tape itself."By using a dimmer on the heat tape you can control the wattage and there fore the heat that it puts out . if you are using a pulse proportional thermostat the dimmer isnt going to operate properly with it.

give a little more information like what use it is cage , rack etc and what size tubs and how they are set up will all have a effect on how the heat is going to function and function properly.
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The current setup is back heat with 12quart tubs for babies in a rack setup. Currently temps within the cage are ok, however this setup is very temporary as I'll be moving next week and would prefer belly heat with the system and will be recieving 30 addtional tubs and balls in.

I've never used this type system before. I've also got some questions regarding how the tape would be used for belly heat without having to cut the tape for every layer and wire each layer individualy to the next. TY for your help

The current setup is back heat with 12quart tubs for babies in a rack setup. Currently temps within the cage are ok, however this setup is very temporary as I'll be moving next week and would prefer belly heat with the system and will be recieving 30 addtional tubs and balls in.

in the set up you descibed you shouldnt have anything to worry about.Personally i would stay with back heat i think its a much safer heat in the event a thermostat goes bad you wont cook the babies.

I've never used this type system before. I've also got some questions regarding how the tape would be used for belly heat without having to cut the tape for every layer and wire each layer individualy to the next. TY for your help

belly heat you would take one long length of heat tape if you dont want to wire each one and weave it from the side acros the shelf up the side across the shelf up the side etc etc ... this would be the ways to do it .Personally again myself i like back heat better on a rack setup esp on a small tub set up as it give more roomto regulate their selves in the tub and get away from heat when the want to .

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Buisnesses come and go everyday, what keeps you here is how you treated the customer the day before....My Boa Can Kick Your Boas _ss!www.cheapcages.com
Visit the new website while the Jungle gets made over.

Thank you, I will continue with this setup if it holds current temps. I'm still waiting on the balls that were supposed to be no later than 10:30, two hours ago.....

Everyone has their own opinion on this subject. But i totally DISagree with Alan. Belly heat is more suitable for snakes and ALL reptiles in my opinion. When in nature do you see snakes basking by pressing up against the SIDE of a rock? Back heat will heat up the boxes, dont get me wrong, but snakes rely on belly heat for digestion and thermoregulation. Ambient air temps arent how their bodies are set up. Even when the air temps are in the 90's, you still see snakes basking on a flat surface for digestion. Even when using small tubs, 3 inch flex watt held to the very back of the rack , flat on the shelves works fantastic. It still gives them plenty of room to thermoregulate from the front of the tub to the back.

Everyone has their own opinion on this subject. But i totally DISagree with Alan. Belly heat is more suitable for snakes and ALL reptiles in my opinion. When in nature do you see snakes basking by pressing up against the SIDE of a rock? Back heat will heat up the boxes, dont get me wrong, but snakes rely on belly heat for digestion and thermoregulation. Ambient air temps arent how their bodies are set up. Even when the air temps are in the 90's, you still see snakes basking on a flat surface for digestion. Even when using small tubs, 3 inch flex watt held to the very back of the rack , flat on the shelves works fantastic. It still gives them plenty of room to thermoregulate from the front of the tub to the back.

I didnt say that back heat was the BEST way to heat a rack I said IMHO its the SAFEST way to do so .I have been using back heat on my snakes both in 6,12 & 28 qt tubs in my racks and to date have NEVER had a issue with them not digesting there foods or regurging due to not having enough heat. I currently have several thousands of dollars in boas set up in 12qt tubs with only belly heat on them , when they need heat for digesting they move to the back of the tub where it stays a nice toasty 88-90 degrees and the fronts of these 12 qt tubs stay 82-84 in the day and then i set my night drops so the back stay around 80-84 and the fronts are 76-78. I DID once have a rack with belly heat the thermostat went bad and i came home from a show to find my 100% het for strpied albino male laying swollen and dead i nthe tub from being overheated ( i was out of town two days ) Now i realize you said you disagreed which is fine but just to let it be known i have had NO issues. In mother nature the nskaes have a broader range to move themselves AWAY fro ma area that becomes to hot that is also why you wont find a snake settin on a hot asphault road whn its 95 degrees out and the road bed is 130+ degrees they move off the hot surface because it becomes un comfortable.So when in captivity i like back heat because if belly heat is used the snake can only run so far ESP in a 12 qt tub to escape heat that could get over 110+ degrees in the case it malfunctions therefore giving you a snake that is either dead or has brain damage from being severly overheated .

Not arguing just pointing out a few more facts
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Buisnesses come and go everyday, what keeps you here is how you treated the customer the day before....My Boa Can Kick Your Boas _ss!www.cheapcages.com
Visit the new website while the Jungle gets made over.

I have to disagree that belly heat is a better source of heat for digestion. I have flip flopped many times back and forth between belly heat and back heat when using racks. The main problem with using belly heat is it is completely unnatural for many tropical snake species.. (How many boas do you see in the wild making their way to an open area in the trees to bask on a rock? Or how many do you see climbing to the tops of the trees to soak in the sun for their warmth? And also how many have you seen get burnt from a malfunctioning heat strip?) The natural ambient temps in their habitat are where they soak up the required heat for thermo regulation and for digestion.
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Randall L Turner Jr.
www.aircapitalconstrictors.com

I think we need to know where the actual thermostat probe is? If its belly heat what type of litter? Because if the probe is laying on top of the substrate the litter could be and will be weakening the heat, in which case the heat tape has to run hotter. Heat tape temps up to around 135-145 degrees is still very safe.

Newspaper is the substrate and the probe is under the newspager on the top tub.